You guys I have a problem. I know some of you wont think it’s a problem, but it’s stressing me out so that makes it a problem. My stash, it’s still growing. I know I know, stash gives me street cred and what-not with other knitters, but for me personally I just see big piles of money sitting around. I need to stop buying yarn. I’m saying this because as I type this I KNOW I am going to buy yarn later today, my LYS is having a sale. I’ll be buying some Frog Tree. But here’s the deal. After that I need to stop. At least for 6 months. How do I do it? Has anyone else done this? I have some fabulous yarn in my stash that I would have completely forgotten about if it weren’t for my stash on Ravelry. It’s wrong and it’s stressing me out! I’ve got to do something. Some thing has got to be done.
Today’s Pr0n! Hempathy. Of course I have no idea what this will be, becuase I don’t need to have project in mind to buy yarn.
It is beautiful though
Posted by Emily on May 16, 2008 at 7:03 am
It is pretty! I love the blue. About the stash, I wouldn’t let it stress you out. If you feel like you shouldn’t buy yarn… don’t. Have fun with knitting things out of your stash, and think about all the other useful things you could spend the money on when the temptation hits. If something like a new project or an unbeatable sale comes along, don’t beat yourself up… since decreasing yarn buying is just as meaningful as stopping altogether. And be careful of Ravelry! Use it as a stash-busting project finding tool, not an eternal wishlist of things you want to make. =)
Posted by Jo on May 16, 2008 at 7:43 am
I know just how you feel. My stash recently busted out of the four Sterilite bins, and I had to get three more of the under-bed bins to contain it all.
My first suggestion: If you buy yarn online, stop it. That’s the biggest thing I’ve done recently. I only buy it if I can pet it first. Second, think about what you already have in the stash. Do you have something this weight or this color already? If I’ve already got a similar yarn, then most of the time I won’t buy it. Third, only buy yarn if you have a project in mind for it. You can only knit so fast. What’s the point of having yarn that will sit in your stash for YEARS until you get around to knitting it? (I know that this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.)
Finally, I’ve cut down my yarn store visits to just my favorite store. She’s the only one I go to. Because she doesn’t get new, never-seen yarn in terribly frequently, I’m pretty safe.
This is what I’ve been doing since about January. Your mileage may vary, yadda yadda. But I think it works for me. Hope it helps!
Posted by Monika on May 16, 2008 at 9:01 am
I wish I had a solution to your problem, but your problem is my problem too. I’m at a point where I really don’t need any more yarn or fiber, but I still had to buy/order yarn for a project for a B-day present, because I could not find something approbriate in my stash. That sucks!
)
When our LYS’s have sales, and I get the newsletter, I delete it at once, don’t even look at it, or go there. It helps sometimes. But I enjoy it, when I find someting in my stash to use, I’m glad I can reduce it now and again. Wish you all the best in NOT buying yarn!
Posted by jenstr on May 16, 2008 at 10:17 am
dude, i could have a cabin in montana with all the dough i’ve spent on crafts in the last 3 years..no joke… i am of no help to ya…good luck!
have u read ‘not buying it’… great book, but i can’t last 2 weeks..
Posted by weezalana on May 16, 2008 at 10:40 am
Every time you get the urge to buy more yarn, dive into your stash and play with stuff you forgot was there. It’s like having new yarn! Or lay out your stash, look at your queue, and start deciding what to make with what. That usually distracts me.
Or just destash.
Posted by SuzannaBanana on May 16, 2008 at 11:00 am
I have stopped, and remain yarn-buying free since early February, but it’s not easy.
First off, I catalogued everything in my stash. Everything. There’s not one half ball of yarn in my house that isn’t documented in the spreadsheet. It was astonishing and embarrassing. Moving pushed me to do this, because I had to pull all of the little stashes out of their spots and consolidate them. It’s all in the garage now, and there’s no way to ignore it. I had a surprising amount of what I call ‘decorator yarn’, the yarn that you have out in a bowl or a basket because “it’s kind of pretty, and it goes with the room.” Rounding up and storing the decorator yarn required me to add another twenty-gallon bin to the stash flotilla.
I then ‘fessed up to Accountant Boy. “Honey, it’s O.K. It’s nice that you have a hobby.” “A.B., let me give you a ballpark figure on the dollar value of the collection.” I come up with a rough estimate and tell him. “Wow. Yeah, you need to stop.”
Once that was done, I stopped looking anywhere online at yarn sales. “Oh, but they’ve got Lorna’s at, like, 40% off!” No. Don’t see what Elann has on sale that day, don’t go to Webs, even though they’re having an anniversary sale, don’t read ‘Yarn Sale Spotters’ on the Knitty message board.
Finally, and this has been the hardest part, I do not go into my LYS. I love my LYS. They just moved to a new location, and I want to see how the new place looks. I like everyone who works there and the regulars who knit there. I want the to stay in business. But I don’t go in.
I’m a few months into my buying freeze, and I feel pretty good about it. I can see pretty yarns at Elann and say, “Yeah, but I’ve got (x) that I like just as much,” or “I won’t get around to using it before 2012.”
Now that I’ve stopped the growth, I have to figure out how to knit faster so that I can actually make the stash shrink. I’d love to be able to walk across my garage again…
Posted by .: tani :. on May 16, 2008 at 11:33 am
i’ll be your cheerleader if you want to diet together! i will also be on a self-imposed yarn diet (after knitter’s connection in june – hey, i’ve been budgeting for that!). since i’m going back to school, money will be tight. my plan is to stop buying until after i graduate (summer 09 hopefully).
i figured, i quit smoking, i can quit yarn binging!
Posted by Sauntering Soul on May 16, 2008 at 11:49 am
While I’m not a knitter, I had this problem with paints, canvases, collage materials, etc. And this will probably be the last remedy you will consider but it’s the only thing that worked for me: I stopped working on anything for about 8 months.
I ignored my art room, I didn’t look at my art materials, etc. The only way I could make myself stop buying supplies was to stop working on art. After 8 months, I sat back down at my easel and it was almost like I was seeing everything for the first time. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I had been so busy buying new stuff that I didn’t realize the wonderful supplies I already had. I’ve been back painting for a few months now and I’ve only bought one tube of white paint because I was completely out of white and a charcoal pencil. I already had way more stuff than I ever needed but I had to take a break from it to realize that.
Posted by Zarah on May 16, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I usually go on a yarn diet in the summer (after I gorge myself at LYS sales and fiber festivals, of course!)
As for that particular yarn…. Hempathy is a great sub for Rowan 4-ply – what about Glampyre’s Orangina?
Posted by Shannon on May 16, 2008 at 1:29 pm
All good suggestions and I might try a couple. My biggest weakness is buying stuff online. I just need to quit – if I can.
Have a great weekend.
Posted by Zonda on May 16, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Gorgeous Hempathy! Um..I’m no help, I need help myself!
Posted by Carol on May 16, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Ravelry has a feature where you can type in the yardage and patterns that use that yardage will pop up. Try it, maybe you will see something you like for your stash yarn! Or You could do a de-stashing sale…
Posted by Sharon on May 16, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I hear ya. I’ll tell you that I re-organized the stash recently and use the excel function from Ravelry. Umm yeah that was a real eye-opener. I also made a deal with myself, although knitting has been slow lately. For every project I cast on with newer yarn I purchased, I must cast on for a project with older yarn to try to cycle some of the oldest stash out, thus relieving some of my guilt.
Posted by turtlegirl76 on May 17, 2008 at 7:30 am
Oh sister I hear ya! I’ve been saying the same thing to my friends. I have a yarn problem and I need to do something about it. I’m not sure how to stick to a yarn diet, but I’m gonna try!
Posted by Michelle on May 17, 2008 at 8:55 am
OH pretty yarn, the dark blue is gorgeous. I have the same stash problem. I have lots of yarn I love and want to knit, but those darn yarn companies keep coming out with new irresitable stuff! I keep telling myself I’m not going to buy anymore, then I do. I think it’s a sickness. I don’t really want it to go away, just slow down a bit!
Posted by yarnnut on May 17, 2008 at 9:28 am
As echoed by everyone else, I have the same problem. I’m also addicted to buying yarn and not having the time to knit it all. My LYS is also having a sale this weekend and I think it’s going to take all my might to stay away. I feel your pain. The hempathy is beautiful though. I think I may need some in my stash too. lol…
Posted by Moni on May 17, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I know EXACTLY how you feel. It took kind of a long time for me to come to terms with the fact that I don’t like having a stash. Having too much yarn around stresses me out. I feel like I have all of these projects that I need to get through, hanging over my head, you know? So I made the decision to just not add to the stash. Every once in a awhile I fall off the wagon, and that is to be expected, I think. I don’t beat myself up over it. But for me the trick is to just not give in to those little temptations. If you do buy yarn make sure it is for something you are going to immediately cast on. Otherwise, stand strong and just say no
Posted by Batty on May 17, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I’m trying to do much the same thing, for similar reasons. Tomorrow, I’m flying to Halifax, and I know I’ll be coming back with yarn. But on the whole, the yarn accumulation around the house has gotten out of control, and there is all that pretty stuff I don’t even remember owning…
We can do this. Somehow. It has got to be possible. My guess is it’s not going to happen until I tell myself there aren’t going to be any exceptions (except buying yarn to finish a project, that is).
Posted by Sheepish Annie on May 17, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I haven’t bought yarn in a while now. At first, I just told myself that it was for a week. Then for a month. Then I saw a life with less yarn shopping. Now, when I do buy it, it is really special and I think it through a bit more.
Posted by Denise on May 17, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Oh I feel your pain girl! I don’t know what to suggest though. I never used to have a stash, always had to have a pattern in mind before I went to buy the yarn. Lately I’ve found that I want to buy yarn even if I don’t know what I’ll knit with it, but ya know what, i just hate that it sits there and doesn’t immediately get used, so I’ve found it easy to stop buying it again. Ask yourself before you buy it, what will I knit with it, and if you can’t answer right away, then don’t buy it! Easier said than done I’m sure, but give it a try
Posted by robin on May 20, 2008 at 6:10 am
I’ve been trying to slow down on the yarn stashing, but the fabric stashing has been increasing. The individual skeins I used to buy to swatch with were the ones that stressed me out. I solved the problem by giving them away to my MIL, who likes individual skeins for use in afghans. I think it’s counterproductive to totally avoid sales at WEBS where things are 50% off that you know you’re going to actually use, because if you have to buy them at full price later you’ll be kicking yourself. I don’t go into local yarn shops as I always feel I have to buy *something*, and I do try to have a project in mind for each purchase when I buy it. If that changes later, so be it, but I do usually have a plan.